Pastor Adeboye explains viral photo after Nigerians accused him of protesting Jonathan but keeping quiet under Tinubu

The RCCG leader accused a journalist of misrepresenting the photograph, noting that former President Goodluck Jonathan had left office five years before the exercise.

His explanation comes amid criticism from Nigerians who have questioned why he has not publicly challenged President Bola Tinubu over insecurity and economic hardship.

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has admitted carrying a placard in a widely shared photograph, but says it was taken during a 2020 prayer walk and not a protest against former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Adeboye, 84, spoke on Sunday, November 1, 2026, at the church’s November Thanksgiving service, where he accused a journalist of misrepresenting the circumstances.

Adeboye on his walk against insecurity He said he was amused when he first came across reports that described him as a wicked man because, in his words, he had carried a placard against Jonathan not long ago. "True, I carried a placard. I can’t deny that," he said. "It was a prayer walk."

He said the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) chairman had told all churches to hold a prayer walk near their churches, and that he did so because of that directive.

Adeboye said the date contradicts the claim. Jonathan left office in 2015, he said, and the walk took place five years later, during the second term of former President Muhammadu Buhari. He said a journalist twisted the story and urged people to investigate before taking stories to the press.

On February 2, 2020, Adeboye led RCCG members on a prayer walk in Lagos over killings and insecurity, following a CAN directive after a three-day fast. The placard he carried read, "All Souls Are Precious to God." Media reports at the time described the exercise as both a prayer walk and a protest against insecurity.

The clarification follows months of criticism from some Nigerians who say Adeboye protested during Jonathan’s time but has stayed quiet about insecurity and hardship under President Bola Tinubu. 

Rapper Eedris Abdulkareem challenged him in a 2024 song to call out the Tinubu government the way he allegedly did Jonathan’s, and singer Spyro has also criticised prominent spiritual leaders for their silence. More recently, critics asked why he did not lead a protest after pupils and teachers were abducted in Oyo State.

The RCCG has rejected the claims, saying Adeboye has on several occasions spoken about insecurity, corruption, economic hardship, elections and governance. Christian filmmaker Mike Bamiloye said Adeboye has not been silent, pointing to a November 2025 video in which the cleric condemned the security situation and gave the government a 90-day deadline to act.